Twenty Questions
by PuppiesAreAdorable
Summary: ONESHOT:: Kagome mumbles something in her sleep and that leads our favorite hanyou into a game of Twenty Questions. InuKag


_(A/N: yo my fanfic home peeps. Okie, I just HAD to get this one off my chest. I had first started this one with just a couple of paragraphs, no real plot in mind. But then I glanced at the Twenty Questions game that sitting on my computer desk right now and I guess I thought if it subconsciously. XD_

_BTW, this is three years after Kagome first gets sucked into the well, so she's now eighteen and perfectly legal XD but before you even ask, NO! There IS NOT a lemon!! Thank you.)_

**Twenty Questions**

Everything seemed normal on this cool Spring night in the Sengeko Jida. The silver-haired, dog-eared hanyou was sitting upright against a tree, the dark-haired houshi mimicking his position across the camp he and his companions had made. The striking tajiya lay curled up with her two-tailed neko near the houshi. And last, but not least, a fire-haired kitsune was curled up in a sleeping bag of the modern world with the time-traveling raven-haired miko. It was particularly peaceful, which was unusual, but taken gratefully in the midst of painstaking battles. Even so, the hanyou was not really asleep, just resting. The fluffy appendages atop his head swivelled, taking in even the most minute sounds, looking for any signs of approaching danger. Sensing and smelling none, he let his body relax just a touch, though he kept a firm grasp on the Tetsusaiga in his lap. He opened his eyes and glanced at the futuristic miko when she mumbled something so incoherent that even his superior hearing could not figure it out. Curious, (and after he made sure that everyone else was still asleep) he crawled toward the raven-haired beauty.

She sighed in contentment in her sleep, and then smiled after she hugged the kit closer. _She's __dreaming, _the confused hanyou thought, _but about what I wonder? _The aforementioned girl giggled softly and hugged the kit even closer, burying her nose into his hair. Now the hanyou was purely confused. What could she be dreaming about that was making her blush?! Suddenly her grin grew wide as she let out another soft giggle. Whatever it was, it was sure one hell of a good dream. The silver-haired boy raised an eyebrow at his companion. Or...er..._more_ than a companion, well, at least in secret he believed that they were on the verge of becoming more. He forced the slight blush down when the sudden vision of Kagome snuggling with not Shippou, but with him...and...their...pup... He was thankfully distracted from his more enticing thoughts when Kagome murmured something else.

"I...love you...too," the girl breathed, then turned – still hugging the kit against her chest – so she wasn't facing her protector.

This was quite unexpected. So much so that the hanyou literally felt a blow to the stomach, losing all air in his lungs and nearly knocking him over on his bum. The reason for this reaction, as anyone might guess, was that the young man was imagining her dream, and who else was in it. The poor guy was dead-set on believing that whoever she was saying her feelings to _wasn't_ him. And why would it be? He who had insulted and put her down, day after day, not to mention the multiple times he had gone back to that dead corpse of an imitation miko. Though he hated – positively _loathed_ admitting it, he wasn't good enough to deserve her. She was _perfect._ And he...was not. She was kind and gentle, loving and compassionate, generous and beautiful. She wielded her stubbornness to help and defend people, while unlike him, who used his to start fights. He was hopelessly flawed; stubborn, rude, blunt, his all-around gruff demeanor, not to mention he long ago had sealed away his heart. But somehow she had wormed her way through his barriers, but instead of breaking his fragile heart that she now holds in her hands, she cares for it with a loving touch, gently mending all the cracks and tears.

He was so afraid to let go of that, the one thing that he had going for him in his life, that he was determined to keep every other man away from his precious Kagome, even though he himself knew that he could not have her. He was being incredibly selfish, he knew that, and he tried to let her go. He really did. But he just couldn't. After being scorned, hated and alone all his life, he just couldn't bring himself to truly let go of the one person who fully accepted him. Sure, Miroku, Sango, Shippou, Kirara, and Kaede did, but they all couldn't understand and care for him as openly and freely as Kagome. Not to mention the mere thought of the young miko in someone else's arms brought his blood to a boil. He was a complete hypocrite. He convinced himself that he didn't deserve her, yet he told himself that he was the only one who got to hold her in his arms. He didn't get to contemplate his confusing ways that even he didn't understand further because Kagome's breathing changed, and she started to stir. She was waking up.

He quickly retreated back to his spot leaning against the tree which he had temporarily marked as his for the night. He didn't pretend to be asleep, however, he saw no point. With his face indifferent, he watched the girl yawn and stretch some after she carefully maneuvered Shippou out of the range of her moving body so he wouldn't get bumped and woken up. She sat up slowly and stifled another yawn.

"Have a good dream?" he spat out. Okay, so he was still seething over the image of Kagome admitting her love to another. She looked over at him, half startled and half confused. Not about how he was awake however, he never really slept anyway.

"What's with the attitude?" she asked, though not expecting an answer. "How did you know I was dreaming, anyway?"

"You were talking in your sleep, stupid."

She turned her head away from and put a hand up to her mouth, as if trying to hide the subtle blush on her cheeks. Inuyasha thought that she failed miserably. "I was?" she asked.

"Yeah bitch, pretty loud at that."

"It probably just seemed a little loud because of your super hearing," she said nonchalantly, though her blush adjusted to a slightly darker shade of pink. "Well, Dog-boy, what did I say?"

"Don't call me that! And nothing more than some nonsense."

Wow. That was a lie if there ever was one. If she had been paying more attention, she would have noticed that he did not look at her when he said that, the sure tell sign that he was lying. But, she didn't, so Kagome just stifled another small yawn and then started to get up.

"I'm going to go wash my face in the stream nearby, 'kay? I'll be right back," she told him just about to leave, but then stopped for a moment and added as an afterthought, "Dog-boy." She grinned as he gave a small growl of annoyance. The hanyou wasted no time in getting up and following after the young woman. The stream wasn't that far away, just far enough that they didn't have to worry about their friends hearing them if they talked in their normal voices. The waterway was cool and clear, and Inuyasha just realized that he never saw streams like that in the miko's world. Sure, he saw little ditches where incredibly dirty water passed through near the roads, but there was no way in hell that anyone in the right mind would drink that shit. It'd probably kill you. Okay...back to the annoying (or not so annoying) miko in front of him...

"What, can't I even wash my face without you?" she asked, slightly amused that he had followed her. She felt that nothing could bring her down after that dream she had. It was definitely the best dream she's ever imagined. Better than the one where she was the princess of Candy Land (she was eight, shut up) and even when she had that incredibly strange dream that everyone from the Feudal Era was in her world. Nope, nothing even stood up to it.

"No you can't! Knowing you, you'll probably get attacked or kidnaped or something!"

"I do not always get kidnaped!"

"Do too!"

"Name five times."

"Okay then, in chronological order. One; those bandits at Kaede's village when the jewel was still whole. Two, the Thunder Brothers. Three, Urasue. Four, Miroku. Five, Kouga. Six, the–"

"Alright, alright! I get it!"

Inuyasha smirked with triumph. He usually didn't win any of the battles, but the seldom few he did sure did a lot to boost his already large ego. And yet, usually Kagome would get angry, and then go stomp off somewhere, or sometimes sit him. Instead she was humming softly to herself, her eyes seemed to be a million miles away as she stared into her reflection. Inuyasha was directly behind her standing, looking down at their images in the water. His scowl deepened when Kagome got that dreamy look in her eye. He just _had_ to know what she was dreaming about!

"Why the hell are you so happy bitch?!"

"Hm? Oh, I just had a really great dream," she answered in an almost sing-song voice.

"I already know that! What was it about that you are so God damn happy about?!"

"You sure are curious, Inuyasha," she said as she giggled a little. The slight blush crept back up to his cheeks as he plopped down beside her.

"I am not! I just wanna know what the hell's wrong with you!"

"Nothing's wrong with me," she said shrugging. "It's just that that dream made me happy."

"Well, what was the damn dream about?!" he asked gruffly. She shifted beside him, so that her legs were to one side and she was almost leaning on his shoulder. Okay, so he already knew what was making her really happy. He just wanted to know who the hell thought he had a damn right to try and claim her as his own. Wait, that sounded like something Kouga would do. Could it have been that scrawny wolf who she had fallen in love with?! There was always that possibility...but Kagome had constantly assured him that she only felt friendship for the wolf prince. Could she have been lying to him?! Or could have the feelings just recently emerged?! Or maybe it wasn't about Kouga at all! It could've been about that Hobo guy back in her era! Dammit, he'd kill him for stealing Kagome's heart!

"Would you stop growling! Are you really that angry that I had a good dream?"

He was growling? Whoops. He couldn't help it that he _loathed_ the thought of Kagome being someone else's. "Feh, I wasn't growling."

She laughed. "Sure, Inuyasha. Whatever you say."

They didn't say anything more for a few moments until Inuyasha couldn't stand the silence. "Was it about that stinkin' wolf?"

"Hm? Oh, the dream. Nope," she said smiling. She gave the arm propping herself up a break and instead gave the pressure to Inuyasha's shoulder. The little bit surprised hanyou blushed and looked away, determined to not let her see that she had this sort of affect on him.

"Then was it about that Hobo guy from your world?"

"His name is Hojo and wrong again. I was just wondering, why do you instantly assume that it was about a guy? I mean, why couldn't it be about candy or something?"

"Because you said 'I love you too' in your sleep!"

"So I did say something you understood! You liar!" she yelled back. Only, it wasn't accusingly, it was like she was teasing. _Man, she must really be in love with the bastard so that not even when I yell at her would she get angry,_ he thought. He didn't want to admit it, but the truth was, he was _unbelievably _jealous. Why couldn't it be _him_ she was dreaming about?!

"So, who was it about?!"

"Well, he's incredibly handsome, though he can be kinda annoying at times, and can act very childish."

"So why are you in love with him?! He sounds like a complete jerk."

She laughed hard at this. "Yeah, he can be a complete jerk sometimes, but he's also very sweet. He just doesn't show it much."

"Do I know him?"

"What, so if you do you can try to kill him?"

He didn't answer.

She laughed again, and he discovered that he loved to have that wonderful sound enter his ears. Everything about her was beautiful, fuck, even her clumsiness was cute. _Damn, why is this woman so fucking perfect? And more importantly, because she is, why does she insist to stay be my side?_

"Well, you do know him, but you definitely don't want to kill him."

Okay, everything he said was confusing was perfectly understandable compared to this. It was like trying to understand her 'math homework', as she called it. Just fucking confusing. Hm, he was handsome, kinda annoying and a jerk, though he was really sweet and he wouldn't want to kill him. Who could it–oh. That bastard.

"Was it Miroku?!" he asked, though he himself didn't really believe it was possible. Apparently so did she, because she turned her head and gave him a very strange look.

"No. Where did you even get that idea?! He's in love with Sango, not me. Besides, I consider him more like a brother."

Well that was a relief. There was no way in seven hells was he was going to let that pervert get his hands on Kagome. "Then who _was_ it?!"

She snuggled a little into his shoulder, making his blush deepen about four shades. "Well, he's had a tough life, and to the world he's not important, but to me, he's the most important."

Okay, he was at a total loss at this point. Who the hell _was_ this mysterious man who had stolen her heart?! He was about to ask another question, but she continued on.

"I think he's confused though, about whether he loves me or not. That's why I was so happy when he said that he loved me in my dream." She sighed sadly, as if for some inexplicable reason she wasn't worthy of this mystery bastard's love. Fuck, what he do so that it was him that she was dreaming about. From what he could tell, the description she gave fit Kouga perfectly.

"Are you sure it's not Kouga?"

"Why are you so convinced that it's Kouga I'm talking about?"

"Well, he's a jerk and he's childish though he acts sweet to you, because of Naraku his life's been pretty rough, and he's confused about you and Ayame."

"Yeah, but you would want to kill him, so it can't be him I'm talking about. And I keep telling you, the feelings are completely one-sided!"

"...Fine. Then tell me just who you're talking about!"

"Nope. You have to guess!"

He growled again in somewhat irritated annoyance. "Give me another hint then."

"Okay, um, he has a brother, though they aren't very close, oh! And he wants to become something he's not."

"Who is this guy?! Are you like meeting him in private or something when you go back to your world?!"

"Well...I suppose I could, but he lives in the Feudal Era."

"Is that even fucking possible?!"

"For him it is."

Hm...oh wait, he has an answer! He doesn't know. But, not wanting to seem like he was stupid or something, he was just going to make her give in hints until she gave up and just told him. There was no one else who could pass through the well...unless, could she have made his guy up?! That was the only answer at this point. But, before he could say anything, she shivered and snuggled closer. Not that he didn't like having her cuddle him like that – quite the opposite, actually – he also didn't want her to get a cold. So he shifted some, making her get off, though he was really only getting his robe of the fire rat to cover herself up. He gently wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Here. We don't want you to catch a cold."

"Thanks, Inuyasha."

She wrapped it tighter around herself, then continued leaning against his shoulder. They sat in silence for a moment or so, then Kagome gave him another hint.

"He's also kind and caring, though he doesn't like to admit it, and he always thinks of others before himself."

"He sounds like a great guy," the hanyou said quietly. She moved so she could look him in that eye.

"He is," she answered. He couldn't stand to see that much happiness in her eyes, knowing that he wasn't the one who caused it, so he looked away. Never mind trying to brutally maul the guy, he'll have to try to not kill _himself_ if Kagome went away. If she never even looked him because she now had someone better. What was the point? Instead of torturing himself by acting like everything was okay while the young miko was in love with someone else would kill him anyways. Besides, if he were to hurt the bastard in any way, shape, or form Kagome would get angry with him and then he would loose their friendship, too. And he was not about to let that happen.

"It's...sort of sad that you can't figure it out," she said quietly before she gave a soft sigh. For a moment it seemed that she wasn't going to say anything else, but she continued. "There's...one person you haven't said yet."

Okay, time to put some serious thought into this. He was handsome, acts childish, can be a jerk, yet is also very sweet. He knows the damn bastard, yet he doesn't want to kill him. He's had a tough life, and not important to the world, yet he's her most important person. Not to mention she thinks that he's confused about whether he loves her or not. He has a brother, and he wants to become something he's not, but the way she said it, it sounded like she didn't want him to become this something. She obviously thinks that he's very kind and caring, and puts others before himself. He also has the power to travel back and forth...between...the...wait, hold up!

_The only people that can travel between the past and the future are me and Kagome! So, does that mean...that...she was dreaming about...__**me**__?!_

The hanyou decided to test this theory while trying not to get his hopes up too high. _I suppose I'm handsome, I act childish and I can be a jerk, though I guess I can be sweet._ Inuyasha's heart was beating faster and faster with every thought._ I know me, and I don't want to kill myself. My life's been pretty rough, and nobody cares about me because I'm a hanyou, although to Kagome, I guess I'm pretty important, seeing as how I protect her. And I can see why she thinks I'm confused, what with Kikyou and all. Sesshomaru's my brother, and I want to become a full demon, but Kagome wants me to stay a hanyou. I'm not too sure about the kind and caring part, though there must be dozens of times where I sacrifice myself for the sake of my friends...for the sake of Kagome._..

But, could he, would he, let himself get his hopes up? Like, but what if he was wrong? But, then again, if she was in love with someone else, why would she be leaning against his shoulder? And why would she stay with him for all of the three years the jewel has been shattered? He knew that she had another life on the other side of the well, yet she chose to be on this side with him. And why was that?! Could it be that she actually...was...in...with _him?!_

He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He was beginning to feel a little lightheaded, the news of the young miko actually being in _love_ with him was a bit overwhelming. Kagome! In _love_ with_ him!_ It was too good to be true. Still...all logic said that it was...but then again, when is love logical? About a million to never.

"Well? Have you figured it out yet?" she asked, a little hope sounding in her voice. She had felt him stiffen suddenly, and she glanced up at his face, and she saw that he was staring straight ahead with a pretty deep blush on his already pink cheeks and spreading. _Took him long enough._

"Um, I, eh, think so," he stuttered. But what if he guessed and he was wrong? His heart felt like it was being held together with tree sap and that any little shove could shatter it beyond repair. But, if the person he was secretly in love with was in love with him to, it would be as if his heart would be bound with melted adamant. In other words, he'd be a lot more confident, not just the false confidence he sometimes felt he was dealing with. Well, he sure as hell needed a lot of that right now.

"Where you, um, dreaming, er, where you...dreaming uh, about, um, uh...me?" he stammered. He had said the last word very quietly, so quietly that the girl beside him almost didn't hear him. Almost. Though she didn't say anything, so was that a good thing or a bad thing?! He couldn't tell.

"Well, uh, were you?" he asked again, gaining a little confidence. It didn't seem like she was going to answer him, but eventually she did.

"...What would you say if I said yes?"

He sucked in a breath. He couldn't believe it. Just couldn't fucking believe it. Kagome _is!_ Kagome _is_ in _love_ with_ him!_ His heart skipped a couple of beats. He clenched his hand so that his claws threatened to pierce his skin. Feeling the subtle pain shoot up his arm, he was sure he wasn't dreaming. And if he was, he never wanted to wake up. He could feel his whole face turn bright red, and...and...he went crashing back down to Earth. This was all way to good to be true. Something horrible had to be coming his way, or Kagome's. This was just his luck, too.

"But I..." he just couldn't quite finish. His heart felt as if it were about to burst, and that was affecting the speaking part of his brain. He felt Kagome give his shoulder a break and stopped leaning against him. _She thinks that I'm going to say 'But I don't love you'! Say the rest of your sentence and prove her wrong! Come on, mouth! Say it! SAY IT! SAY. IT. OR. ELSE._

"But I don't...I don't...deserve your...love," he said quietly. _I'm so sorry, Kagome._ He could feel her gaze on him, but he kept his eyes on the ground in front of him. She just stared at him for a couple of painstakingly long moments. Then she stood up and looked at the sky.

"To be perfectly honest, I don't think that there is anything you can really _do_ to deserve love. Love is a gift that can only be given," she countered softly. The hanyou still sitting beside her blinked up at her a couple of times, the meaning of her words slowly sinking in. She looked as if she was about to turn and leave but he grabbed her hand before she could move a muscle. She looked back into the molten orbs that were staring into her ocean colored ones.

"Kagome," he said while slowly standing up, never breaking eye contact. He grabbed her other hand with his other empty one. She looked at him expectantly, and for once she was able to search his eyes for what he was feeling, because he let his emotions shine through. And she saw what she was hoping, praying for every night for almost two and a half years to see him gaze at her with that look. She smiled shyly at him.

"Would you...would you stay with me?" he asked hesitantly. As if he had anything to be worried about.

"As long as you want."

He gave her a small smile, and then pulled her into him. Apparently she had gotten the message that he was trying to tell her through his look. He hugged her close, as if she might disappear if he didn't hold her tight enough. She happily snuggled into his chest.

"I love you too," he whispered into her ear. Gods it felt so good to actually say that. They just stood there in a comfortable silence for a minute or two. Or maybe ten. He couldn't tell.

"Two more."

"What?" he pulled back some to look at her.

"We were playing twenty questions and you had two left. Now you only have one."

He was about to ask if she had really been keeping count but thought better of it. He had a better use for the one question he had left. He bent his head closer to hers with half-lidded eyes.

"Can I kiss you?"

She blushed a little but nodded slightly. They slowly closed their eyes as they inched closer and closer together. Finally their lips touched, and Gods! He felt as if he were on Cloud Nine. It was _magical_. He could almost feel the energy that pulsed between them, their lips acting like a connecter. It was so much better than his kisses with Kikyou. She was cold, and absolutely no electricity flowed between them. But with Kagome, it was as if he was dancing on blue fire. It sent his whole body tingling, and it was like he floating. But soon his damn lungs were screaming for air, and he had to release her lips from his. The after affect was like coming up to the surface of water, though some of the magic still lingered. And from the glazed look in her eye, Kagome had experienced the same exact thing he did. Still dazed and sort of breathless, he hugged her back into him.

He could definitely see himself doing this in the future.

_(A/N: haha I made Inuyasha really dense in this one XD um...OH! Yes, I really did count all the questions Inuyasha asked, and I counted twenty. But I could be wrong, you never know . . ._

_REVIEW and me will gives you an e-cookie!! :D)_


End file.
